Today is the Feast of St. Jerome, the author of the Vulgate, or Latin translation of the Scriptures. St. Jerome famously said, "Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." A clarion call for us to be familiar with God's Word!
In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 9:51-62, we hear what can be a rather disconcerting saying of Jesus. A guy says he will follow Jesus, but first he wants to go and bury his father. Jesus responds, “Let the dead bury their dead.” Another guy wants to follow Jesus, but first just wants to say goodbye to his family. Jesus tells him, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.” Can’t bury my dad? Can’t even say goodbye to my family? What was Jesus thinking here?
Jesus’ words go back to the concept of old vs. new. Think of an addict. (Which is really a great analogy, because we’re all addicted to sin.) When an addict commits to getting clean, they cannot go back to the old neighborhood and start hanging with their old addict pals again. They must now move forward with their lives. Leave the old behind, never look back and get on to bigger and better things. Same for us. Once we commit our lives to Christ, we must move forward, press on. So how about it? Are you ready to set your hand to the plow today?
Father, thank you for giving us the opportunity to set our hand to the plow and work for the Kingdom. Give us the strength and courage to never look back. Amen.
The Catholic faith is the faith of the Bible! Learn to explain and defend the faith in a minute with A Minute in the Church, available at www.GusLloyd.com.
Agreed!! A truly GREAT analogy!! The best one I can recall for this familiar Gospel. Thank you Gus.